


Iroh’s Gourmet Teas and Teapots

by demiboy_demon



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Friends to Lovers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:07:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26569291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demiboy_demon/pseuds/demiboy_demon
Summary: What if Zuko hadn't spent so long searching for the avatar? What if he had settled down and helped Iroh open a tea shop? What if the moment he stopped looking for Aang, Aang found him?
Relationships: sokka x Zuko, zukka, zuko x sokka
Comments: 22
Kudos: 285





	1. The Meeting

Zuko sighed contently. It had been exactly one year since his banishment, and six months since he had stopped caring.

His uncle had been a big help in making Zuko realize that the whole avatar thing was a wild goose chase. He had been upset at first, but then he realized that Iroh was right. It was a wild goose chase.

Even if it was possible to find the avatar, why would he want to?

It’s not like Zuko wanted to rejoin the fire nation. Iroh has made him realize that, too. He was much happier without Azula or his father. The fire nation was oppressive, and he was better off being banished. Ever since his mother had died, his home had become a house of abuse and painful memories. Azula was the golden child, and Zuko..... Well, Zuko was closer to flying buffalo dung in his father’s eyes.

After he decided he was done chasing the avatar for his father, Zuko felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He had never felt so free.

Even when Zuko heard about the avatar being found in an iceberg, he stayed out of it. He was busy working in his uncle’s tea shop.

It was a cute, small shop, built into the ship that had once belonged to the fire nation. Now it belonged to Iroh’s Gourmet Teas and Teapots, a quaint shop in an Earth bender colony, one that hadn’t been overtaken by the fire nation.

It was a nice life, not being involved in his father’s pointless war. Being free to be himself without the fear of not being enough. He had a peaceful life.

The ladies were all over Zuko, but he wasn’t interested, no matter how much his uncle tried to get him to get a girlfriend. He wasn’t sure if he wanted a boyfriend instead, or if he’d rather be single, or if he just hadn’t met the right woman yet, but he didn’t really care.

“Zuko!” Uncle Iroh called out.

Zuko poked his head out of the closet he was hiding in. “Yes, Uncle?”

“A very nice girl came to see you. Her name is Zi Lee. She’s a tailor. She was very disappointed that you weren’t here. Where were you?”

“I was hiding in this closet.” Zuko replied.

Iroh looked taken aback. His brow furrowed. “Why were you hiding?”

“Zi Lee is a great girl,” Zuko explained, “She’s smart and pretty, and her family is fairly respectable. But I’m just not interested in romance at the moment.”

Iroh shook his head, but he was smiling. “Oh, Zuko. Why, when I was your age, I wanted nothing more than to conquer nations and charm beautiful women. But not everyone is the same. You’ll meet someone one day, and they will be wonderful.”

Zuko noted that his uncle said ‘they’ And not ‘she.’ He wondered if this was a conscious decision made, or if his uncle had simply had a slip of the tongue.

“Anyway,” Iroh said, “It’s time for dinner. I made cabbage soup and rice.”

Zuko lowered himself out of the closet. “That sounds great, Uncle. But why cabbage soup? You hate cabbage.”

Iroh nodded. “Yes, but the cabbage vendor looked so sad. He said his cabbages kept being knocked over. I wanted to make him a little happier, so I bought a cabbage.”

“That was very nice of you. I hope it made him happy.”

“I hope so, too. It’s always nice to brighten someone’s day.”

Zuko was taste-testing tea for his uncle the next day when the story broke.

“Hmm.” Zuko said, “I think it needs something. Maybe a little bit more ginger?”

Iroh nodded. “Ginger. Got it. Does it need any more lychee?”

“No, it’s good lychee wise.” Zuko replied. “Maybe some tapioca would give it some texture, but then again, it’s tea, so it doesn’t really need a text-”

“The avatar!” A voice from outside cried. “He’s back! He was freed from an iceberg, and now he’s back to defeat the fire nation!”

Zuko rolled his eyes. “Another rumor starter. People need to stop believing everything they hear from some random guy screaming in the streets.”

“And he’s here, in our little colony!” The man outside yelled. Zuko rubbed his hand to his forehead, willing away the headache that came with thinking about the avatar.

“He’s searching for someone to teach him firebending!”

Zuko sighed and shook his head.

“Probably a tourist, trying to stir up trouble,” Iroh sighed. Zuko nodded in agreement.

‘Even if it was the avatar,’ Zuko thought, ‘My days of chasing an impossible goal are over.’

The next day, Zuko went out to the marketplace. He needed to get something for him and his uncle to eat for dinner.

He was looking at some buying elephant koi when someone bumped into him from behind.

“Agh!” Zuko said.

“Sorry!” A boy’s voice said.

Zuko turned around. Behind him was a short, bald boy in air Nomad clothes was behind him. He had a blue arrow on his head.

“No worries,” Zuko responded, “Where’d you get your clothes? They don’t look like they’re from here.”

The boy smiled at him. “Oh, they’re from the Southern Air temple.”

“Oh, cool. You get them from an antique shop or something?” Zuko wasn’t sure why he was asking. He didn’t really care. He guessed he was trying to be polite.

“No, I got them before the fire nation destroyed it.” The boy said.

Zuko shook his head. Kids and their sarcasm. “Sure, kid.”

A guy ran up to the boy. He was tan and lean, with hair pulled into a small ponytail. He was handsome, and he was carrying a man purse. That took a few points off his total attractiveness tally, but he was still cute.

“Aang, there you are. Kartara was looking for you, she wants to practice waterbending with you.”

The bald boy, Aang, Zuko assumed, turned to the other guy. “I’ll go find her in a minute.”

“Waterbending?” Zuko asked.

The unnamed boy looked at him. “Yeah. What’s it to you?”

“A little far from the Southern water tribe.” Zuko said, narrowing his eyes. If this guy was going to be rude to him, he was going to be rude right back.

“Yeah, no shit.” Said Unnamed boy.

“What’re you doing so far North?”

“Um, you ever heard of the avatar?” The unnamed boy leaned against the stand selling elephant koi.

Zuko rolled his eyes. “Who hasn’t?”

“Well, Aang here just happens to be him. And I’m Sokka, his mentor.”

Aang looked up at Sokka. “You’re not my mentor.”

Sokka glared at him. “Aang,” He whispered through gritted teeth. Zuko was pretty sure that he wasn’t meant to hear what Sokka was saying, but it’s not like Sokka was being quiet. “Aang, I’m trying to impress the hot Earth Nation boy. Can you not ruin it for me?”

Zuko looked around, wanting to see the hot guy. The marketplace wasn’t too crowded, so it shouldn’t be too hard. The only problem was, there were no hot guys around them. Everyone surrounding them was either really old and saggy or female. One person was both.

‘Wait,’ Zuko realized, ‘Am I the hot guy?’

“Yeah, so,” Sokka said, “I’m traveling with my sister and the avatar. Also this girl named Toph, who seems mean at first, but she grows on you.”

‘The avatar?’ Zuko thought, ‘Uncle was right. When I stopped looking for him, he found me. But I don’t even want to find him any more.”

After a moment of consideration, Zuko said, “Good for you.”

Sokka raised an eyebrow. “You don’t seem impressed.”

Zuko shrugged, “I’m pretty much over the avatar. He’s way overhyped these days.”

He looked to the avatar, Aang. “No offense.”

Aang shrugged. “It’s fine. It’s not as fun being the avatar as people make it out to be.”

Zuko nodded. Then he walked away, because he didn’t care about hunting down the avatar anymore, and he didn’t want to get drawn back into that mindset. He went back into his and Iroh’s house, which was attached to their tea shop.

“I got some diced elephant koi.” Zuko gestured to the bag in his hand. “Also, I met the avatar.”

Iroh dropped the kettle he was holding. Hot water spilled over the tile floor. “What?”

“Yeah. The rumors were true,” Zuko said, “He’s in our town. I talked to him a little, but then I left.”

Iroh got a mop and began to mop up the spilled water. “I’m proud of you, Zuko. I know how hard it is to give up something you once wanted so badly.”

Zuko shrugged. “Thank you, but you were right all those months ago. The Fire Nation isn’t something I want to be a part of.”

Zuko went out on a walk late that night. He needed to clear his head. He kept thinking about the avatar.

‘No,’ Zuko thought, ‘I’m not thinking about the avatar, so much as the guy who was with him.’

Zuko looked around the square. It was dark and empty. The street lights weren’t lit. He sighed and rolled his eyes. The town officials weren’t very good at remembering to light the lanterns at night.

It was getting darker by the minute. Zuko looked around the square. He didn’t see anyone.

Cautiously, he lit up his hand. Just a small flame, so if anyone saw him from their windows, they would assume he was holding a candle.

From behind him, Zuko heard a gasp. He turned around and saw the bald arrow-headed boy from earlier.

Zuko quickly extinguished his light. “I can explain,” He stammered.

“Didn’t I see you earlier?” The boy, Aang, Zuko remembered, interrupted him.

“Yeah,” Zuko said, “But listen, I didn’t-”

“You’re a good firebender!” Aang said excitedly. He grabbed Zuko’s wrist and started pulling him, “I told Katara they still existed. C’mon, you gotta meet my friends.”

Zuko yanked away his wrist. “Woah! Sorry, Avatar, you seem like a nice kid, but I’m not getting wrapped back up in this war.”

Aang looked disappointed. “But we’re fighting for good, and I need someone to help me learn firebending.”

Zuko shook his head. “I’m not your guy.”

“But what about the greater good?”

“I work in a tea shop. That’s the greatest good I ever want to get.”

Aang sighed. “Just come meet my friends. Please?”

Zuko realized that he wasn’t going to be able to make this kid leave, and he probably couldn’t outrun an airbender. “Fine,” He relented.

“Great! I’ll take you to our camp site.” Aang said, dragging Zuko behind him.

The campsite was on the edge of town, on the beach. There was a girl making shapes in the air with water, and another standing with her feet in the ocean. The guy from earlier, Sokka, was sitting on the sand shouting out guesses to what the water bending girl was trying to make.

“Beaver-duck!” He shouted.

The girl shook her head.

“Platypus-pigeon!”

“Nope!”

“Come on, Katara,” Sokka whined, “Give me a hint.”

“It can fly,” The girl, Katara, Zuko assumed, said.

“Appa!” Sokka yelled.

The water figure dropped from the air back into the ocean when Katara saw Aang and Zuko walking toward them.

“Hey, guys!” Aang said. “I found a good firebender.”

Zuko watched in amusement as both Katara’s and Sokka’s faces took on expressions of shock.

“The guy from the elephant koi stand?” Sokka asked, waving his arms around indignantly, “No way he’s a bender!”

“Is too!” Aang argued.

“Is not,” Sokka countered.

“Is too.”

“Is not.”

“Guys,” Katara interrupted, “Even if he is a firebender, how do we know he’s trustworthy?”

Everyone looked to Zuko, as if he had wanted to be here in the first place. He shrugged, “I never said I was.”

Aang made a sound like a betrayed child. “Wha- But I saw you firebend! Now you’re saying you’re not a bender?”

“I’m just saying that I never wanted to come here in the first place. I already told you that I’m not teaching you firebending. I’m not getting caught back up in my father’s war.”

“Your father?” A new voice asked. Zuko turned to see a girl with black hair who had walked up to them way too quietly.

“Yeah,” Sokka said, “What does your father have to do with this?”

Zuko mentally cursed himself. ‘Well, at least after they know, they’ll let me leave.’

“My father is Emperor Ozai,” Zuko declared. A gasp rang through the gathered people. “I am Prince Zuko, and I have no intention of ever fighting on either side of this war.”

No one said anything for a few seconds. ‘Finally, I can go home,’ Zuko thought. He turned around and started marching back up the beach, toward the town.

“Idiots,” The unnamed black haired girl said. “Zuko is the banished prince. Emphasis on banished. Have you guys never been to a party? Or even read a newspaper?”

“You’ve never read a newspaper, either, Toph,” Sokka pointed out.

“Yeah,” The black haired girl, Toph, replied, “Because I’m blind. But you guys aren’t, so none of you have any excuse to not know about the banished prince.”

Zuko started walking away faster. ‘Maybe if I walk fast enough, I’ll be gone by the time they get to the embarrassing bits of that story.’

“He got banished for standing up to his father. It was a big scandal,” Toph explained as Zuko further picked up his pace. “My parents would talk about it whenever gossip was low.”

Zuko broke into a run. Maybe if he got away fast enough, they wouldn’t be able to follow him.

Unfortunately, sand is hard to run on and airbenders are fast.

“Hey, Zuko!” Aang shouted across the beach.

Zuko pretended not to hear him.

“Zuko!” Aang said, now much closer.

Zuko groaned and rubbed his temples. “What?”

“I know you don’t want to get caught up in this war, but it’s really important that I learn to firebend before Sozin’s comet. If I don’t, I won’t have any way to save the world.”

Zuko wanted to say that that wasn’t his problem, but deep down, he knew it was. After all, he lived on the world. If the fire nation took it over, (only a matter of time, really,) then Zuko was as good as dead.

“Why can’t someone else teach you firebending?” Zuko asked. Surely there was someone else who this responsibility could fall to.

“Because you’re the only one who’s willing to,” Aang responded.

“What part of ‘no’ screams ‘willing’ to you?”

“If you don’t teach me, no one will,” Aang said, “And then the world will all be taken over by your dad and we’ll all die.”

Zuko considered this. The kid made a compelling point. He sighed.

“Fine,” Zuko relented, “But as soon as you get it, you’ll leave me alone, okay? I don’t want to fight in this war. I just want to work in my uncle’s tea shop.”

“Deal!” Aang shouted.

Zuko groaned. He glared at the avatar. “You’d better be a fast learner.”

Uncle Iroh took the news surprisingly well. “You’re going to teach the avatar firbending?”

Zuko nodded. “Unfortunately.”

“That way he can defeat the firelord.”

“I know what you’re thinking,” Zuko said, “But I didn’t want to do it. The avatar wouldn’t stop pestering me until I agreed.”

“I was going to say that I support you, Zuko,” Iroh said. “I am proud of your for doing what is right.”

“Plus,” Zuko said, hoping he sounded casual and nonchalant, “There was this really cute guy with him...”

Iroh sipped his tea with a happy look on his face. “A cute guy, huh? Tell me more.”

Zuko grinned upon hearing his uncle’s support. He hadn’t wanted to get involved with the avatar, but he supposed it would be fine.

After all, like his uncle said, destiny is a funny thing. You never know how things are going to work out.


	2. The Proposal

"Feel the energy of the sun flowing through you. Imagine the fire burning though your veins, then out through your hands and into material existence"

Zuko took a deep breath as he said this, following his own advice and watching his multicolored flame flow out of his fingertips. He looked over at Aang, who was sadly looking at his hands, like they had wronged him but he was too nice to be angry. 

"I don't think this is helping you guys." Toph loudly interjected, "Because you still suck just as much now as you did two weeks ago."

"Just because you were born perfect at bending doesn't mean everyone was," Aang grumped. "I can't focus with you insulting me every few minutes."

Toph just shrugged and continued picking her nose. 

Zuko's lips curved into a frown before he could stop them. "Let's meditate and see if maybe that helps you."

As soon as Zuko was able to relax into a meditative state, Katara's voice jolted him out of it. 

"You guys have been working pretty hard. How about a nice cool glass of watermelon juice?"

"Yeah!" Aang cheered, leaping up from his meditation and running over to Katara. He accepted a glass from her hand and took an audible gulp. "Thanks Katara. You of all people definitely know how to master an element."

"Aw, thanks, Aang."

Zuko silently accepted that his meditation was not working. He stood and walked over to the others. Saying nothing, he smacked the glass out of Aang's hand. Pink juice spilled out of its vessel and soaked into the sand, then evaporated into the heat of the day. 

Aang made a sound of protest that Zuko found very childish. "I was drinking that."

"We don't have time for watermelon juice! You all are leaving here tomorrow and you need to have all the elements mastered in almost no time at all!"

Toph rolled over on the rock she was laying on so she was facing them, which Zuko thought was quite polite considering she didn't need to look toward them to begin with. "What happened to the chill guy from two weeks ago?" 

Zuko frowned. "He died along with my patience. Aang, do the move again. No watermelon juice until you've figured out how to make a flame."

"Well how do  _ you _ do it, Mr. Spoil-spark?" Toph asked. 

Zuko opened his mouth to answer, then closed it. He repeated this action several times before deciding to change the subject, lest he look like a fish. He was just glad Toph couldn't see his facial expression. "How could you have been training this long and not even have been able to make smoke? Smoke! It's basically air that's dark!" 

"Hey!" Katara interjected, "Don't talk to Aang like that!"

Zuko made the conscious decision not to have an aneurysm, not because he cared about whether or not he lived, but because if he did Katara would yell at him more. He could practically hear her voice scolding him for being so selfish as to have a medical emergency while her precious Aang was there. 

Okay, so maybe he was being harsh and exaggerating a little. But it had been two weeks of near constant training. That included breathing exercises, meditation, martial arts practice, and pitiful attempts at fire bending. If Aang had been in Zuko's dad's court, Ozai would have killed him. Partly because he was the avatar, partly because he was so bad at this. Seriously, and Ozai called Zuko pathetic.

In truth, after his banishment, Zuko had been mad. Beneath that anger was shame, and beneath that shame was utter devastation that his father didn't love him. 

The the anger came back and Zuko decided the fire nation was bad (with some words of truth and tough love from Uncle.) and he was done with looking for a boy that didn't exist. He worked with his uncle to let his old life go. 

With his old life went his firebending. After his rage was gone, he could barely make a spark. 

So his uncle swore him to secrecy and took him in a journey into some mountains, where Zuko became one of the only people ever to meet dragons. They taught him to bend with love, and while that sounded cheesy, it worked. Plus, now Zuko could bend rainbow fire, so.... there were several positive outcomes from the trip. 

But it wasn't as if he could tell Aang any of that. If he told him about the dragons, he would be breaking his promise to them. And even worse, to Uncle. 

"You all are leaving tomorrow," Zuko tried again, "I am the one teaching you bending, and I am not leaving tomorrow. If I do not teach you bending today, you will not know how to bend fire when you face my father. And you'll die. Therefore, Aang needs to know how to bend fire by tomorrow or we all die. Understand?"

Sokka walked up to the group. "Sorry, guys. All I heard was Zuko saying 'we all die, understand?' in a clipped tone, which is like, pretty standard for him. Anyone wanna catch me up?"

"Wait-" Toph said, "You're not coming with us?" 

"Of course no-"

_ "You're not coming with us?" _ Sokka and Katara yelled at once.

  
"Why didn't anyone tell me?"

Zuko moved his head back in confusion. "Of course I'm not coming with you! I live here. I work in my Uncle's tea shop. I have an adorable walrus dog."

"You do?"

"Well, not the last one, but that's a dream for a later day. It's not important. Why would you all just  _ assume _ I'm going with you?"

"It's not like you've got a life here," Toph said.

"Yeah I do."

"I mean," Toph moved her hand back in forth in a so-so sort of motion, "You live here, but you don't, like, have a life here."

"That makes no sense."

Toph shrugged. "I don't know how to explain things better than that."

"Wha- what?" Zuko asked, feeling very confused, "Why would you all even want me to come with you guys?"

"Because you're cool and nice and a 'super pretty mofo', whatever that means, and-"

Sokka slapped his hand over Aang's mouth, which Zuko was grateful for. He had no idea what Aang was going on about. "He means we like _you_ _ as a friend _ and want you to join the boomeraang team!"

"That's not what we're called," Katara protested. "But the point still stands. You're a cool guy. And I don't have to be the only adult here when you're around."

_ "Excuse me?" _ Sokka said, "If anyone's amazing adult, it's me. You know how hard it is to keep 3 hyperactive tweens under control? Not. Easy."

"No, excuse  _me_!"  Katara shouted, "I am  not  a hyperactive tween who needs to be controlled!"

"I was counting Zuko." Sokka said, shooting Zuko an apologetic look. 

"Neither am I, you know," Toph said. 

"I was counting him twice. And nice try licking my hand, Aang. I have experience with toddlers, so I have no spit related weaknesses. Lick me all you want."

"There's gotta be a better way to say that."

"I'm lost here," Zuko deadpanned. "So you all, for whatever reason, want me to leave my entire life behind to travel on the back of a giant buffalo?"

Aang nodded from behind Sokka's hand. "Mrp mrrph mrmrph mrph."

"He's saying 'that sounds about right."

"Yeah, Sokka, I got that much."

The group stood in silence for a moment, processing that Zuko was not going with them. 

Or so Zuko thought. 

"So," Toph finally said, "You comin'?"

________________________________

Zuko lay in his bed stared at the ceiling. The group wanted him to move with them? What would Uncle say? What if Uncle wanted him to go? What if he wanted him to stay? What would he do then? He didn't think he could leave Uncle if he wanted him to stay. But if he didn't go, would Aang learn firebending? How? From whom? Why would Aang think he was pretty? How did he feel about that?

_ 'I guess I can answer the last one,' _ he thought _ ,  'I do not reciprocate Aang's feelings. He's, like, twelve.'  _

For the other questions, he had no answers. It had been hours since he had gone to bed, and he hadn't been able to fall asleep or decide anything. 

Zuko tossed his feet over the side of his bed and walked out of his room and out into the main area of his and Uncle's house above the tea shop. 

To Zuko's surprise, Uncle was still awake and sitting at the table. "Uncle?" Zuko asked, feeling taken aback that Uncle was still awake. "What are you doing awake?"  
  


Uncle smiled warmly. "I sensed you were facing a difficult decision and might appreciate some company." 

Zuko sat down across from him. "How did you know?"

"Sokka came by yesterday and told me he was excited about you leaving and asked if you needed help packing. I told him that I wasn't sure what he meant."

"Ah. So not a wise, omniscient thing." 

"Not omniscient, but still wise, I hope." Uncle poured Zuko a cup of tea. "Alas, what one finds wise may be foolish to another. What are your troubles, nephew?"

Zuko blew on his tea. "All of the avatar's friends want me to travel the world with them. They want me to teach him firebending. They want my help defeating my fa- the fire lord."

Iroh nodded. "I see."

"And I don't even know what to do about Sokka! He's so cute and so funny and makes me want to be a better person. But is he even single? What if he's dating someone already and not available? What if he's dating someone but polyamorous? Would I be okay with that? Is it even okay for me to like him? Am I a failure for not liking women? Oh, god, what if I've been misreading things and he hates me! He did call me a hyperactive tween. I'm not good at social cues, what if I missed something? Wait, no. Why would he want me to travel with him if he hated me?"

"Hm..."

"Why do  _ any  _ of them want me to travel with them? Why did Aang call me a pretty mofo? How do I know what to do? What's the right thing? What if Aang can't even learn firebending? What if all that time in the iceberg froze his ability to make fire?" 

Iroh held his hand up for Zuko to stop. "Zuko, what do  _ you want  _ to do?"

"What?"

"Pretend that I'm not a factor, and pretend that your father isn't a factor."

_ ' I mean,' _ Zuko thought,  _ 'that's pretty much the whole thing. But I'm desperate. I'm willing to try pretty much anything.' _

"If neither of us were involved, which would you decide? If I would be fine with you leaving, and the fire lord could be defeated without you, which would you pick? What do you want?"

What did  he  want? What did he want for his future? Zuko thought about this for a moment. 

"I want to help the avatar. I want my honor, my throne. I want to prove to my father that I'm not worthless, that I can help take down his tyranny." 

Iroh nodded. "Well then, you have your answer."

Zuko froze, his thoughts racing. "Wait. You're saying you  _ want _ me to go? But who will help you make tea?"

Iroh's smile radiated warmth. "Owning this tea shop is my dream, not yours. There comes a time in everyone's life when they must stray from the path laid before them and forge their own."

Zuko stood and walked over to Iroh to hug him. "Thank you, Uncle."

Iroh hugged him back. "Just remember to write, and always know that no matter what happens, you are not worthless."

As they hugged, Zuko blinked away tears. He was going to miss Uncle, but he knew this was the right thing to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus deleted scene: “That’s not what we’re called,” Katara protested. “But the point still stands. You’re a cool guy. Since you never betrayed me in a cave, I have no grudge against you.”
> 
> “Wha- what?”


	3. The Breakdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko realizes he’s likes Sokka and has a mini-breakdown in the woods. Who should find him, but Sokka himself.

* * *

There were some things in life that were universally known. Water is wet. Not everyone you meet will like you.Our upbringings shape our adulthoods. Happiness is a fleeting feeling. Tea is hot leaf juice, but not  _just_ hot leaf juice. If you’re lucky enough to be blessed with firebending, it’s your duty to get with a firebender with different genitals so you two can have kids and make more firebenders to strengthen the fire nation. 

Zuko did not appreciate these rules for several reasons. One, because tea  _is_ just hot leaf juice. Two, because he was very,  _very_ homosexual. 

It wasn’t like Zuko was against having kids. He just didn’t want to have kids with a woman. If he met a trans guy who was willing to have kids with him one day, or if he one day met a guy who already had a kid, then everyone would probably be fine with it. 

When he first realized he was into men, Azula had called him a slur. 

He had asked, “Aren’t you also gay?” 

And she had simply replied, “Yes, but I’m good at it.”

Uncle was very supportive of Zuko’s sexuality from the get-go. He was a believer that love was love, and love had no gender, sex, or status. It was just love, and because it was love, it was beautiful. 

Zuko knew it wasn’t bad to be gay, but part of him still worried about disappointing people. He had already been disowned and banished. He had already spent weeks screaming that he needed to catch the avatar only for him to realize that his father never intended for him to succeed. He had already had half his face burned off and he had already lost his right to the throne. 

If his father somehow found out he was gay on top of all that? Zuko could count on assassins coming to take out his partner within the day.

For these reasons, when Zuko realized he was head-over-heels in love with a non-bending, non-fire nation boy, he had one thing and one think only to say to that. 

_ “ Fuck.” _

_____________________________________________

It was almost poetic in a way, that every time Zuko had a mental breakdown in a forest a badgerfrog was there. Zuko wondered if it was related, or if there were just an abundance of badgerfrogs. Was it correlation or causation? Was it either? 

“Oh, badgerfrog,” Zuko groaned, laying down on a fallen log, “What’s wrong with me? Sokka’s so charming and smart and funny and handsome and... ugh! He’s just so cute! What do I do here? What’s my next move? Do I have to move? Should I jump off a mountain? Fuck me, where am I going to find a mountain?”

The badgerfrog didn’t answer, and wasn’t sure why this strange man was yelling at him. He decided that he was sick of this life, and because he was a badgerfrog, croaked and decided to start a new life in a different forest, one with less strange human men. 

Zuko stayed on the log long after the badger frog hopped off. He stayed until the sky was dark, then began wondering what the others were doing. They had probably already eaten dinner and were starting to go to sleep. He was glad no one was out looking for him, because he wanted to be alone right now. 

Eventually he was found by a very loud search party of one. 

“Zuko?” Sokka’s voice shouted through the trees, “Zuko? Where are you? Zuuuukoooo? Come out come out wherever you a- oh, there you are. Hey, Zuko, what brings you here?”

Zuko didn’t answer, as he thought the answer was obvious. He was clearly sulking. 

“Sulking in the woods, huh? I’ve been there,” Sokka sat down beside him. “What’s wrong? Did Aang’s dinner make you sick? The first time I had his food I got sick, too. That’s just how vegan food is, you’ll get used to it.”

“What? No, it’s not that.”

“You don’t have to be embarrassed. Seriously, I had to spend the whole day in the bathroom. And we were camping, so the bathroom was really a bush and I had to wipe with leaves. It was so gross.”

“No, I’m not sick, I didn’t eat dinner last night.”

“Lucky.”

“I like guys!” Zuko blurted out before he could convince himself not to, then immediately covering his face with his hands. “Specifically, I like one guy, and he’s my best friend, and I don’t know what to do! Like, how will I have kids? How can I make lots of powerful little firebender babies if I’m into a cisgender guy!”

Sokka frowned. “That’s, uh... that’s some heavy stuff, there. I don’t really know what to say, but I’m here for you. I like guys, too. So does Katara. Which, uh, isn’t the same as you, since you’re queer and Katara liking just guys means she isn’t. But I am, so I can totally relate.”

“You do?” Zuko asked, moving his hands away from his face, “How?”

“How did I know I like guys? To be honest, I realized after I saw the boulder,” Sokka sighed like he was remembering something pleasant, “He was my bi awakening, as I’m sure he is for many. What a dreamboat.”

Zuko jutted his head back in confusion. “Uh, I was asking how you deal with that. Like... do you just wait for the feeling to go away? Or is there something I can do to fix it quicker?”

“Fix it? Like... get with the person you like? I’m gonna be honest, while my dating game is flawless, I’m better at asking people out than I am keeping the relationship going. Like, my first girlfriend turned into the moon. So I’d say that you should ask them out then make sure they don’t turn into the moon.”

Zuko filed the conversation away in his brain with a note to ask about that later. “No, like how do I stop feeling this way? How do I fix it?”

“....I don’t think I’m following. Why would you want to stop crushing on someone? Crushing is the best.”

“First off, it’s not. It sucks, I’m always dumb around him. And second, because I can’t have kids like this. That’s what dating and sex and marriage are for!”

“Well, for me, sex and dating are because it’s awesome. But regardless of that, you’re, like, 16. You can worry about marriage and kids later. Maybe adopt some orphans of war, there are a lot of those.”

If Zuko was in a movie, angels would have started singing, he thought. How had he not thought of that? It was genius. He could even say it was a political thing if he wanted, to adopt war orphans instead of having biological kids.

“Sokka, you’re a genius.”

“Thanks. Would you tell Katara that? I keep telling her, but she says I’ve just got a big head. Cain instinct and all that.”

“I don’t know what that is, but I can tell her.”

“Nah, it’s fine.”

Zuko’s face fell a moment later, happiness fading just as quickly as it had appeared. 

“Wait, why do you look sad again? You were happy then you got all morose-ey.”

“It’s just...” Zuko said, “What will my family think?” 

Sokka raised an eyebrow. “Not to be a jerk, but I don’t think your family could hate you more than they already do.”

Zuko considered this for a moment. “You got me there.”

“That’s rough, Buddy.” Sokka patted Zuko’s shoulder before standing. “Anyway, you’ve got fluffy hair and a sexy body, you’re a catch. I’m sure he’ll like you.”

Zuko felt better than he had all day as watched as Sokka walked away. If what Sokka said was true, his friends would accept him. Almost even better, Sokka was also into guys. 

That night, Zuko took out his quill and began writing Uncle a letter. Things are going well, he told him, and I’ve got a lot to tell you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is kind of a mini chapter because nanowrimo combined with the plague has me swamped.


	4. The Questions

Zuko carefully wove the last fire lily into the crown. He double checked the knots to make sure it wouldn't fall apart the moment Sokka put it on his head ( _if_ he decided to put it on his head), then set off to find him.

Zuko had gotten a letter back from Uncle that morning telling him the best ways to go about courting Sokka. He had said that one could never go wrong with the crown of fire lilies. If Sokka put it on his head, then it would mean he had accepted Zuko's courtship proposal. If he threw it behind him, it would mean that Zuko had been rejected and would have to leave town in shame. Since they were currently on the run from the Fire Nation and therefore not in a town proper, Zuko wasn't sure what he was supposed to do if he was rejected.

_'Hopefully,'_ Zuko thought, _'It won't come to that.'_

He spotted Sokka cleaning his boomerang and made his way over anxiously, holding the crown in both hands.

"Hey, Sokka," Zuko called across the camping site.

"What's up, man?" Sokka asked, looking up from his boomerang.

Zuko handed him the crown. "I, um, I wove this for you. It's a crown of fire lilies. No pressure, but I was wondering if you would accept this as a token of my-"

"Of course! Why wouldn't I?" Sokka said, taking the crown.

Zuko breathed out a breath of relief. "Good. I'm so glad. I was up all night making it, I'm so relieved you accept."

"Yeah, I love fire lilies." Sokka, much to Zuko's disbelief, brought the fire lilies up to his mouth and took a big bite. "They remind me of seaweed, which reminds me of when I was a kid."

Zuko felt his mouth fall open in shock. He closed it as quickly as he could. 'Did he just eat them?' he thought, 'Is that a rejection?'

Zuko laughed uncomfortably. "Haha, great. Yeah, seaweed is cool."

"You've had it?"

"No."

Sokka grinned. "You always say the weirdest things, man. I love that about you."

Zuko chatted with Sokka for a few more minutes about seaweed and other things that didn't at all relate to Zuko's proposal, trying to sound casual and as if his heart hadn't been ripped out and stomped upon.

Once the conversation reached a natural end point, Zuko walked away and decided to help Katara cook dinner.

________________________________

"So," Katara hummed, sounding like she cared a lot but was trying to conceal it, "Sokka, huh?"

"...What about him? Did he do something dumb?"

"Obviously. When isn't he doing something dumb? But no, not in particular."

"Oh, then what about him?"

Katara shrugged. "I mean... he's kinda cute, don't you think?"

Zuko felt disturbed. "He's your brother. Are you... into Sokka? I'm not judging you, but I'm sure we can find a therapist to, uh, help you get over that."

"Ew!" Katara shouted, as if she wasn't the one who brought it up, "Ew! Ew! Ew! Gross! No! What the fuck? Ew!"

"You're the one who brought it up! I'm just trying to help you!"

"Ugh! Ew! Gross! No! I meant you and Sokka!" Katara said, holding her hands up to her forehead as if to ward away a headache, "I think I just threw up in my mouth a little. Ew, I hate that so much."

"Oh. Uh... what about Sokka and I?"

"I can't even anymore. Just... let's cook now and talk later. I'm worried if I open my mouth I'll throw up into the stew."

Zuko shrugged. That was fine with him. In fact, he'd prefer to never talk about boys with Katara. Especially not her brother.

When dinner was finally ready, Zuko called out to everyone , "Stew's ready, guys!"

He sat down with his stew and gestured for Toph to sit next to him like she always did.

"Actually," Aang said, pushing Sokka forward, "What if Sokka sat next to Zuko?"

Sokka frowned. "What? You don't want to sit next to me?"

"No, I do," Aang assured him, "It's just that it might be nice to shake things up a little."

Sokka shrugged and sat down next to Zuko. "Sure, I guess."

Aang nudged Katara with his elbow and winked at her. She winked back. Zuko didn't even want to know what that was about, so he pretended they were slick about it.

"What's with the winking?" Sokka asked, apparently not having the same reservations that Zuko did.

"Jeez, what's with you people?" Toph groaned, "If you're covertly winking, let me know! I like to be in on a good scheme!"

"Don't worry," Zuko assured her, "It wasn't at all covert. Everyone saw it, I would've told you later."

"Thank you!" Toph said, "We blind-and-half-blind people gotta stick together."

"Oh, it's nothing," Katara said sweetly, in a way that sounded so sweet that it was suspicious, "Just couples stuff."

"Gross," Sokka said, "Can you two please keep your oogies to yourselves? Some of us are trying to eat here."

"Excuse me?" Katara replied, "You're the one who made me listen to you talk about the Boulder's muscles for a week before you even realized you were bi."

"That's different! I didn't know I liked him, so I didn't know what I was putting you through!"

"Doesn't matter if you knew it, you still did it."

"Touché."

________________________________

That night, Zuko wrote Uncle another letter, explaining what had happened with the fire lilies and asking for advice.

Uncle's letter couldn't have come sooner. When the response finally arrived, Zuko felt like he was suffocating in his crush. Every time Sokka did something cute or said something smart or killed something for dinner (okay, that wasn't cute, but it was very heroic, Zuko thought.), his chest felt a little tighter.

The letter contained a list of different courting ideas, though even he wasn't sure what eating the fire lilies meant. Zuko chose the courting ritual that he thought Sokka would like most and got to work.

________________________________

The goal was to ask Sokka to dance with him; if Sokka said yes, it meant he accepted the proposal. If he said no, it meant Zuko, once again, would have to leave town in shame. Zuko wondered what it was with old courting rituals and leaving the town in shame. It wasn't enough that you were rejected, but now you have to uproot your life? Zuko didn't get it.

Regardless, he set candles around a makeshift dance floor and put on some music he thought Sokka would like. Sokka seemed like the kind of guy to like weird, old ballads, right?

Zuko set off to go invite Sokka to dance, hoping that the candles didn't fall over and start a forest fire while he was gone.

Sokka was chatting with Aang when Zuko found him. He waited for them to finish their conversation before approaching. "Hey, Sokka," he said, "I was, um, I was wondering if you wanted to dance with me?"

Sokka looked around. "Like... here? Now?"

"No, I-"

"Hell yeah! Impromptu dance pa- no?"

"No, I set up this thing by the river for us. I worked pretty hard on it, I really hope you like it."

Sokka grinned. "That sounds great! I _told_ Katara that you had a fun side."

Zuko let himself smile. Thank god, he had accepted the invitation. Everything was great.

That is, until Sokka looked over at Aang and shouted, "Hey, Aang. Zuko's throwing a dance party!"

Aang perked up immediately. "No way! That's sparkilicious, hotman!"

"I keep telling you," Zuko groaned, "No one has ever spoken like that. Your friend Kuzon was pranking you-"

But Aang and Sokka had already begun running off toward the dance. By the time Zuko got there, Toph and Katara were there, too. Everyone (sans Zuko) was having a great time. Zuko decided to pretend this hadn't happened and try again another time.

________________________________

Zuko put down his sculpting knife and looked at the intricate designs he had carved into the stone. He hoped Sokka would wear it; if he didn't, the weeks Zuko had spent carving it would have been wasted. And with the day of their planned battle growing closer and closer.... well, knowing Sokka liked him back would be a comfort during the fighting.

The betrothal necklace was a water nation custom, not a fire nation one. But maybe that was why Sokka had rejected Zuko's prior advances; because he wanted to be asked out according to his traditions. Iroh has suggested this in his last letter, and Zuko wondered how he hadn't thought of it before.

With all the battle planning, Zuko and Sokka had both been busy. Zuko had his hands full trying to convince Aang to kill his father, not even to mention fire-bending training. Aang was finally grasping fire bending, but it wouldn't be enough to fight Ozai, much less take him down nonviolently.

Zuko just hoped he would be willing to kill him before he was killed. Aang's death would be the end of hope for so many people, and the end of their lives.

Zuko shook the thought out of his head as he finished polishing the necklace. Aang wouldn't lose the battle. He _couldn't_. And worrying about it wouldn't help either way.

Sokka seemed ecstatic when Zuko gave it to him. "Oh my god," he gasped, "I love it! Thank you so much, Zuko!"

Zuko was smart enough this time to not feel relieved right away. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on you again. But fool me thrice, shame on both of us.

He needed to wait until Sokka _actually put the necklace on_ before assuming his proposal was a success. "You do?"

"Yes, it's perfect! And it's the perfect size!" Sokka ran off, leaving Zuko alone. He came back with his bag a moment later. The necklace was clipped onto the side. "It matches perfectly! Now I won't lose my keys."

"You.... have keys?"

"No, but only because I know I'd lose them. Finally I can get some."

"Haha. Yeah, keys are great. It's like... what, that's a key, how does it work? Probably magic."

"Oh, they work when a key operates one lock or set of locks that are keyed alike. Like, when each similarly keyed lock requires the same, unique key. The cuts which are along the blade of the key are designed to align perfectly with the key's lock. Inside the lock are spring-loaded mechanisms called pins. They aren't real pins, though. And when all the pins are synchronized with the shear line, they can turn and the lock will open."

Zuko nodded. "First, how do you know that? Second, why do you know that? Third, are you saying yes or no?"

Sokka shrugged. "Keys are cool," he said simply, like that answered the questions. "Anyway, I'm going to go make some plans for the battle. Wanna help?"

"Uh, I'm good. I've gotta teach Aang this firebending thing."

Zuko didn't sleep that night. It was sad to know that Sokka didn't like him back. Uncle Iroh was disappointed for him, too, but reminded him that there were lots of men out there that would like Zuko back.

_But I don't want one of them,_ Zuko thought, _I want Sokka._

Uncle Iroh had also suggested Zuko make Sokka some food, but Zuko was not a cook. Besides, with the way the other proposals had gone, Sokka would probably end up using the food as hunting bait.

He didn't say this. He had more tact than that. But he also didn't say anything else, because he had nothing else to say. He lay in bed restlessly all night. He was going to have to give up pursuing Sokka. It would ruin their friendship if he kept going after being rejected, not to mention it would be creepy.

But wouldn't it be awkward? Sokka didn't seem to think so. He wasn't avoiding Zuko, Zuko was pretty sure, and they still laughed and talked together like they usually did. But now whenever they did, Zuko knew it was purely platonic.

Fine, that was fine.

Except it wasn't. Because try as he did to hide it, the longing was still there. Zuko kept himself from acting on it, but it was only getting stronger by the day.

_Focus on the battle,_ Zuko reminded himself, _War first, boys later._

________________________________

Sokka did not consider himself to be melodramatic or over-emotional. He was a person of logic and science, not one of emotion and crying by a lake.

Alas, while able to control his emotions enough to not cry, he was unable to sway himself from sitting by a lake in the dark, wishing he could be a fish with no problems. Fish don't have to worry about guys liking them back. Fish don't have to worry about the fire lord. All fish have to worry about is Sokka catching them, but even that didn't seem to be too big a problem for them tonight. Perhaps they were all busy doing fish things, or perhaps they had grown wise to Sokka's bait, because they were not biting.

Whatever reason the fish had for their noncompliance, it was not improving Sokka's already negative mood. Everyone (and by everyone, Sokka meant Katara and Aang, to whom he had complained,) had noticed.

Eventually he had given up trying to feel batter and took to fishing. Maybe catching a fish for tomorrow's dinner would help him forget his bad mood, or at the very least ensure he wouldn't have to eat Aang's food again.

But even brooding by a lake came with no privacy when you lived at a campsite with four other people, and Sokka was found before he had even felt a fish nibble.

"Hey, Sokka!" Aang's too-cheery-for-the-time-of-night voice called out, "That you?"

Sokka didn't answer, but Aang didn't need him to. He sat next to him and placed his hand on Sokka's shoulder. "What's wrong? You barely touched your vegetables."

Sokka sighed dramatically. "Well that's because I hate vegetables. I'm a meat man, myself, and last time I ate your vegetables I had terrible stomach problems. I told Zuko about them, you can ask him."

"Oh."

"But that's not why I'm moping. I'm sad because Zuko and I have been hanging out so much and-"

"What? But you two are friends! He's your best friend after me and Toph and Kata- huh. I guess you have a point. He's at the bottom of your list, huh?"

Sokka made a scandalized face. "What? No! That's not it. He's my best friend-"

"After me."

"-And spending time with him always puts me in a good mood. I love being his friend. It's just-" Sokka put his head in his hands, "-I want to be more than that."

"Like... best friends?"

"Like boyfriends," Sokka murmured into his hands, "Or like... best friends who also kiss and sleep in the same bed and have kids together."

Aang scrunched up his face. "Huh? That's weird."

"I thought monks weren't homophobic."

"What? No, we aren't. I'm... that wouldn't... just... no. I meant if you like him, why do you keep rejecting his proposals?"

Sokka looked up from his hands. "His what? What proposals?"

Aang opened his mouth to explain, but didn't get the chance. Sokka grabbed his shoulders and shook him around, "What proposals, man! You can't say that and then just keep me hanging!"

Momo jumped onto Sokka's head, causing him to stop shaking in order to claw Momo off his face. "Ack! Momo, not cool."

Aang brushed himself off. "Ha. That was fun. Anyway, all the proposals over the last, like, two weeks? The fire lilies, the dance, the necklace.... did you forget about those?"

Sokka opened his mouth and closed it again. "I.... Aang, before I act on these sudden impulses I'm having, I feel like I should make sure you aren't joking. Are you joking?"

"No, I'm not. You were there, why would I joke saying that something happened when it didn't with something that happened when you were there? How would that even- oh. He's gone." Aang said. He turned to Momo. "What a confusing conversation. Anyway, wanna play lemur-style airball?"

Momo shrieked in delight, but Sokka wasn't around to hear it. He was sprinting around the general area, searching for Zuko.

Eventually he found him laying on a log, talking to a badgerfrog. It looked like Zuko was using the badgerfrog as a makeshift therapist.

_'He could've just asked,'_ Sokka thought, _'I'd be happy to bring out Wang Fire_.'

"It's like," Zuko said to the badgerfrog, "Every time I ask, he says no. I don't want to be pushy, I'm just going to give up. But... I don't know. I'm sad about it. What would you do?"

Zuko looked over at the badgerfrog expectantly. The badgerfrog croaked, then jumped onto his face, and hopped away. Zuko sighed. "Just like last time."

Sokka walked over, hoping he looked casual and like he had just come from the gym or something attractive, and not like he had been spying on the last 20 seconds of a badgerfrog therapy session.

"Hey, Zuko," he said, sitting down next to where Zuko was laying.

Zuko sat up. "Oh, hey. What's up? I was just chilling."

"More like flaming," Sokka grinned, "Get it? Flaming instead of chilling? Because you're a fire bender!"

Zuko laughed. "That's a good one."

_'Hmmm. That wasn't a good one, though,'_ Sokka thought. _'I tried it on Aang and he didn't even smile. Yep. He definitely likes me. Now I just have to play it cool, and ask him out like a man. In a good way, not in a sexist way. In a sexy way, not a sexist way. The suffix is important, I don't want to be an asshole.'_

Sokka, whilst thinking this, began to try to voice his sentiment. "I want us to be friends."

Zuko nodded. "I get that. I want to be friends, too. I'm really sorry if I made you uncomfortable, that wasn't at all my intention. I should've backed off the first time."

"No!" Sokka exclaimed, "I got across the exact opposite point that I was trying to, dang it. What I mean is, I don't want to ruin our friendship by dating."

"Yeah, I figured."

"I want to go out with you and be your best friend. I want to be there for each other in good times and in bad times and in the other times, and I want to eat your dinner for you when Aang cooks it even though it makes me sick because I don't want you to have to. I want to hold your hand and be able to admit that every time we touch I think about how soft your skin is. I want to kiss you. And I want to know that every time I think of kissing you, you're thinking of it, too."

Sokka took a deep breath. "I want for us to stay the same, and be different, all in one. I want to still be the first person you go to when you did something dumb because you know I'll never judge you. I want for you to be the first person I go to when I need help dealing with the others. I want to be happy together and sad together and angry together and everything and nothing else. I want you to never feel alone or abandoned when I'm with you. I want to have your back, and I want you to have mine." Sokka cleared just throat. "Er, what I mean is... I think we should stay best friends. But we should be lovers, too."

Zuko blinked tears out of his good eye. "Oh, Sokka. Oh my god, I uh- I don't know what to say other than yes. Yes, yes, yes. I want that, too."

Sokka leaned forward, and Zuko did the same. The moment their lips connected sent lightning through Sokka's body.

_'Yes,'_ he thought, _'This is amazing. This is right. This is exactly what life should feel like. This is... this is Zuko.'_


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Firelord Zuko is great, but Kiya can’t help but feel suspicious when he asks the Kyoshi warriors to be his guards.

Firelord Zuko was the best Firelord Kiya had ever seen. Granted, he was only the third, and Azula had only lasted a day... but even with the bar set lower than the ground, he had excelled beyond her wildest expectations. He had legalized homosexuality, weed, and cactus juice, which were some of Kiya’s favourite things. 

But things went south when he asked the Kyoshi warriors to be his guards. Why would a young, attractive, bachelor noble ask a team of teenaged and twenty-somethings to be his guards if not to, er, make a move?

‘Maybe I’m being paranoid,’ she thought, ‘but something just doesn’t sit right. What if he wants to date one of the girls? What will he do if she says no?’ 

She didn’t want to find out. Men in the past had disrespected her found family in inexcusable ways because they liked them... Zuko had better not be that kind of guy. 

She decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. But if he so much as looked at one of them with disrespect or lust, she would end his short career right there. 

Zuko hadn’t done anything suspicious yet. But Kiya still wasn’t convinced that he wasn’t plotting something. Plotting a way to date one of the warriors, plotting a way to have sex with them, plotting.... well, those were the two main things. 

____________________________________

“Hey, Sokka,” Zuko called out, beckoning the water tribe ambassador over, “Can you come look at this law to make sure I didn’t miss anything? I don’t want any loopholes.”

Sokka looked over the paper. “I think you’ve got your bases covered.”

Kiya squinted her eyes. “Why are you asking him?”

Zuko frowned. “Who else would I ask?”

“I just think she means you should get multiple checks before you send it off,” Ty Lee added, “Like from Katara and Aang.”

Kiya nodded. That was a far more tasteful way of saying what she was thinking; did Zuko not respect women’s opinions? The fire nation didn’t have much sexism, Kiya knew, but Zuko had been part of the Earth kingdom for a while. Maybe it had rubbed off on him. 

“Oh,” Zuko said, “Yeah, that makes sense. Suki’s already looked it over, as have Mai and Aang, though, so I just needed a water triber’s opinion, and who better than Sokka? He’s a genius, you know.”

Ty Lee made a gagging sound. “Yuck! Just kidding, stop looking at me like that. You guys are sweet.”

Okay, Kiya thought. He already asked women’s opinions, and now he wanted a genius’s, and the only genius in the room at the moment was Sokka. That made sense, but Kiya still felt something was off. She wasn’t sure what, just a feeling in her gut that there was something,  _ something  _ amiss. 

It wasn’t that Kiya didn’t like Zuko. She thought he was great. But previous fire lords hadn’t been, and the long lasting effects of their tyranny lingered. Her family had died by their hands, and now she was in charge of helping guard the new fire lord with her new family. What if he was secretly a puppet for Ozai? What if he was buttering his people up so he could gain their trust and stab them in the back? 

Trauma didn’t leave when problems were solved, Kiya had learned. It stayed inside you forever. She was right to be wary of the new firelord. But the fact remained that he hadn’t done anything wrong. It was still just her brain reminding her of her past. 

She decided to talk about it to someone who wouldn’t have her same trauma and who could see the situation from a more outside perspective. Unfortunately, all the other Kyoshi warriors (or at least, those who were guards and not still on Kyoshi) had similar pasts. Someone in their family, or in their friend’s families, had been killed by the war. 

Except... Ty Lee. She had been affected by the war, and by the fire nation, but she  was  fire nation. That had to count for something, Kiya figured, so she set off to find her friend.

____________________________________

Kiya eventually found Ty Lee doing acrobatics for the turtle ducks in the palace garden. They appeared to be quite enjoying the show, and Kiya felt the tiniest bit of guilt of interrupting. 

“Hey, Ty Lee!” Kiya called out, “Can you help me out?”

Ty Lee swung down from a tree. “One sec! I’m finishing up my stretches. Okay! What’d’ya need?”

“I was just wondering,” Kiya started, hoping she worded it correctly, “About Zuko... like, what’s he after?”

Ty Lee tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

“Well, he’s an attractive teenaged bachelor, right?”

“He’s two of those things.”

Sick burn, Kiya thought. “I guess I’m worried he’s going to try to get with one of the girls. Why else would he hire us? Obviously he  says  it’s because we’re the best warriors out there, and that’s true. But what if he has..... ulterior motives?”

Ty Lee made a face of confusion. “Um... I don’t want to downplay your concern or anything, but he’s not like that. For several reasons. Like, a ton of reasons. Honestly, even if he did play on that side of the field, he’s such a disaster that he wouldn’t be able to score anyone who isn’t attracted to dumpster fires. No offense to him, I think disasters are cute.”

Kiya nodded. So Ty Lee trusted him... that counted for something. She and Kiya and grown close during the last few weeks, and even though they had only met then, it felt like they had known each other for years. 

Still, Kiya wasn’t convinced. She had forgotten that Ty Lee and Zuko had  _ actually  _ known each other for years. They had grown up together, Kiya remembered, so  of course  she trusted him. 

Kiya mentally chastised herself for forgetting such an important detail. She thanked Ty Lee for her help, then thought about who to ask next. 

____________________________________

Suki was her next choice, and the person Kiya should have gone to first. Her leader was never wrong. Well, except that time she made out with Sokka. Kiya wasn’t sure what she saw in him- and NOT because she had a crush on Suki. That definitely wasn’t it. 

Kiya went to Suki during the first lunch they were both off-duty. Usually their shifts’ lunches didn’t overlap (if they did, Kiya might just faint.) but it was always a good time when they did. She and Suki would swap food and secrets and stories about life (that’s how she found out about Suki and Sokka’s affairs.)

“Hey, Kiya. What’s up?”

Kiya always admired how Suki got right to business in conversation. She didn’t dodge around awkwardness, she dove right into the crust of matters and said what needed saying. 

Kiya decided to do what her leader was so good at and say exactly what needed to be said without sugarcoating it. “I’m worried Zuko’s going to hit on one of the girls.”

To Kiya’s surprise and annoyance, her leader laughed. “Oh. Oh! You’re serious. Well, you don’t have to worry about that. I promise, he’s  not  interested.”

Kiya raised an eyebrow. “You sure? Because the fire nation doesn’t exactly have a great reputation when it comes to marrying for love, if you know what I mean.”

Suki nodded. “I understand your concern, and I totally get why you’d be worried. But you just have to trust me on this, ‘kay? He’s not going to go anywhere near any of us.”

“Hmmm.”

“And if he gets possessed or something and tries, you can be the first to beat him up.”

Kiya was satisfied with this answer. 

____________________________________

It had been six weeks since that conversation, and Zuko had proven himself in every way. Kiya wasn’t sure what she was so worried about. Zuko’s leadership was.... unconventional (he refused to sit in the throne, he made his own tea, he called everyone by their first names, he cursed like a sailor, and he took the first weekend of every month off to work in his uncle’s tea shop.) but it worked. 

Zuko hadn’t so much as looked at one of the Kyoshi warriors with disrespect since they had taken up their positions as his guards. He never flirted with them inappropriately or had to be told, ‘hey dickwad, my eyes are up here,’ or told them they fought like girls. He saw them as equals. A low bar, but still far above what Kiya had been expecting. 

That’s why it caught Kiya so off guard when her initials fears were proven right.

It was a boring post. There were spider-fly webs in the corners and dust settled on top of the window panes. It was obvious no one had bothered to clean this corridor for a long time; whether this was because of disuse or shortage of staff was beyond Kiya’s range of knowledge, but she did know that the most interesting thing that could happen here was a previously mentioned spider-fly catching a cricket. 

Until, that was, she heard a sound. Not the normal this-palace-has-been-around-ages-and-because-of-this-sometimes-creaks building noise, but a person noise. 

Kiya followed the sound, working to identify it as she tiptoed. It sounded like... kissing? And a voice. Zuko’s voice. Its words were too quiet to make out, but its owner was unmistakable. 

Kiya tracked the sounds to a broom closet. Classic fuckboy move, making out with one of your guards in a closet. 

Well, it seemed like the kind of thing a fuckboy would do, at least. 

Kiya steeled her nerves and threw open the door. 

“Aha!” She shouted as she flung it open, “I knew you- what the heck?”

In the closet was indeed Firelord Zuko; but it was not a Kyoshi warrior he was ravishing. It was Ambassador Sokka. “Uh...” Zuko said, “It’s just us. Not an assassin.”

Kiya decided not to tell him that she knew it was him; going along with his story would be much easier. “Oh! I’m so sorry, Firelord Zuko and Ambassador Sokka. I thought there was someone hiding in here.”

“Nope,” Sokka said, “We just like the thrill of making out in closets. Well, _I_ like the thrill, and the pun possibilities. Zuko is just going along with it at this point.”

Zuko grimaced. “Didn’t think anyone would be in this hall. Could, ah, could you do me a favour and not mention this to anyone? At least not until the air temple restoration bills are signed off on?”

Kiya bowed quickly. “Of course! Your secret is safe with me!”

“Not really a secret,” Sokka said, “It’s just dumbasses that don’t know.” Sokka stopped for a moment, seemed to realize what he had said, and corrected the statement. “And also you! You’re not a dumbass.”

Kiya raised an eyebrow, then shook her head. She walked away from the closet without shutting it, feeling like if the couple still wanted it closed they could do it themselves. 

Even after that whole ordeal, Kiya felt better than she had in weeks. Zuko wasn’t a threat to the girls because he  _ wasn’t into girls at all.  _ It made so much sense. And it explained why he refused to drink his coffee hot like a normal person, always waiting for it to cool and adding ice. 

Kiya pretended not to notice as Zuko and Sokka climbed out of the closet and snuck away, presumably but hopefully not to a place another guard would stumble upon them. 

Maybe Firelord Zuko was a cool dude. As his uncle had told Kiya the time they had met, Sometimes life is like a dark tunnel. You can’t always see the light at the end of the tunnel, but if you just keep moving, you will come to a better place.

That’s exactly what Zuko had done, Kiya decided. Now his future looked brighter than the stars in the sky. Now his future had friends and love by his side. And, the first weekend of every month, it had a little tea shop called Iroh’s Gourmet Teas and Teapots.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who read this, liked, and/or commented! Your support means the world to me. This was my first multi-chapter non-oneshot book and your support made it happen. At times I thought 'Is it worth finishing? It's not the most original idea, I'm sure someone else will write it.' But then I looked at y'all's comments and it inspired me to keep writing. Thanks again for all your continued support 💕💫💗✨


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